Wood stork and the impact of Red Tide Coffee Mug

Nomads in Exile is the name of an ongoing project focusing on climate change and its effects on migration in animals on the move. The first series, Mother Love, concerns the deadly impact of Red Tide in the Gulf. As marine animals, land animals, and birds die at an alarming rate, it joins the efforts to raise awareness. Due to rising water levels and increasing temperatures, the red algae is able to reproduce without limit. I find the correlation between human population explosion and excessive reproduction by the toxic algae particularly interesting. Is the natural world using metaphor as direct communication to the human species? And if so, why aren’t we listening? I have created frescoes of the animals most effected by the persistence of the red algae. The focal images are meant to look like otherworldly topography; and, a representation of the featured animal’s totem, and thereby guardian spirit. Each piece, a sanctuary for the threatened and endangered. Original lino-cut print, Mother Love, 2018.